Another way for visitors to see Ely’s heritage is with a visit to the historic Hotel, Nevada and Gambling Hall. Once a popular resting place for the Hollywood crown en route to ski vacations in Sun Valley, Idaho, Hotel, Nevada famously opened its doors to the likes of Wayne Newtown, Gary Copper, Jimmy Stewart and Ann Rutherford. Today, many of these hotel rooms are decorated in honor of these famous guests. And impressive as Hotel, Nevada may be, arguably the most prized attraction in Ely is the Ghost Train, an authentic steam-engine train on the, Nevada Northern Railway. Visitors can trawl the rail yard and even hop aboard for a train ride.
Other must-sees in the area are Garnet Hill, an area bursting with beautiful dark red garnets embedded in volcanic rock; the Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park, which hosts beehive-shaped brick ovens built in the 1870s as part of the region’s copper mining efforts and still standing today in near-perfect condition; and the amazingly-preserved McGill Drug Store Museum.
